


Once Upon a Time

by Amethyst4096



Category: Les Miserables, Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 03:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1211005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethyst4096/pseuds/Amethyst4096
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She stared intently down at the man on the horse. Well, she assumed it was a man, as whoever it was was in full knight’s armor. She’d never actually seen a knight before, but she’d read about them. She wondered what this one was doing so far away from the rest of civilization; as far as Cosette knew, nobody else lived this deep in the forest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Cosette was staring out her window, absently brushing her hair, when she saw him for the first time. People didn’t walk past the tower very often; it was pretty secluded, which was exactly why her papa had picked it in the first place. But it happened every now and then. Not that anybody had ever noticed Cosette before, much to her dismay.

She stared intently down at the man on the horse. Well, she assumed it was a man, as whoever it was was in full knight’s armor. She’d never actually seen a knight before, but she’d read about them. She wondered what this one was doing so far away from the rest of civilization; as far as Cosette knew, nobody else lived this deep in the forest.

After a few moments, the knight’s horse came to a stop, and he pulled off his helmet to get a better look at his surroundings, causing his shaggy dark hair to fall into his eyes. He looked around a bit, his eyes eventually falling on Cosette’s tower. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Could he see her? The tower blended in fairly well, what with all of its shrubbery, but it was by no means completely invisible. She knew that she should probably duck down from the window now, seeing as the man was now staring intently at the tower, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Although she wouldn’t admit it, she kind of wished that he would see her.

Her wish came true a moment later. The knight’s eyes met hers, and he smiled, starting towards the tower.

***

“I say we go look for him. He’s been gone all day, and the trip shouldn’t have taken him more than a few hours.” Courfeyrac said as he finished his drink.

“Yeah, I mean this is Marius we’re talking about.” Jehan chimed in.

 Enjolras rolled his eyes.

“Honestly, I’m sure he’s fine. He’s a grown man and he can fend for himself; there’s no need to send out a search party.” Enjolras replied brusquely.

“I don’t know, he could be anywhere by now,” Joly said worriedly.

Several of the men murmured in agreement, drowning out Enjolras’s attempts to steer the conversation back to matters of strategy.

Everyone got up and walked out of the tavern, leaving an exasperated Enjolras at the table. Cursing Pontmercy under his breath, he got up and followed his friends out the door.

***

“You know the King and Queen are havin’ a ball tomorrow night. Tryin’ to find a wife for the prince.” Madame Thénardier said to her husband as she cleaned the dishes one night.

 Thénardier looked up from his pipe. “Hmm. We still have the clothes from last time, don’t we?”

“Well, of course we do. I’ll clean ‘em tomorrow and we’ll be all good to go.” She replied.

“Then it’s settled. Do I have the pleasure of accompanying the Baroness du Thenard to her bedchambers, then?” He said, offering his arm.

 Madame Thénardier giggled and took his arm with such a tight grip that he winced. “Why, I could never refuse a baron!”

***

When Éponine finally heard her parents go upstairs for the night, she collapsed onto the little stool next to her. It had been an incredibly long day of sweeping and cooking and everything else her parents could think of for her to do. She needed to sit down for a few minutes. Éponine reached into the cabinet next to her, rifling around for something to take the edge off. After a few moments, she triumphantly pulled out a bottle of brandy, which she swigged down in a matter of minutes. Feeling somewhat satisfied, she got up and continued to sweep the floor, which was littered with crumbs and all kinds of things that Éponine didn’t care to identify. 

So her parents were going to try to get into the ball tomorrow night. She wasn’t surprised really, seeing as they did things like this all the time, coming home with full stomachs and pockets. She was just a little upset that they got to go and she didn’t. She did just as much as they did, probably even more. All she ever did was do chores and look after her little siblings.

Maybe if she asked her parents they would let her go with them. She had certainly proved herself to be a talented pickpocket; she could work wonders at an event like this. And her father rarely passed up the opportunity to make more money. She could even bribe ‘Zelma to watch the other kids, as she did have a little bit of money saved up. She had planned on using it for something else, but this was an emergency.

Getting off her stool and picking up the broom again, Éponine decided that she would ask her parents about it first thing in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Éponine was preparing breakfast when her parents finally made their way downstairs. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to ask them.
> 
> When they came into the kitchen she began, “So is it true that there’s gonna be a ball tonight?”
> 
> Her mother answered. “Yeah. What’s it to ya?”

As soon as he noticed the face in the window, Marius started walking toward the tower. He couldn’t believe his luck; he had finally found somebody to help him! He had no idea where he was, and desperately needed directions.

Once he got closer to the tower, he began to make out the features of the person who still stared down at him. It was definitely a girl, a very pretty one, at that. She looked quite worried, so Marius smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way, and gave her a small wave. She gave him a small smile, and opened up the window.

“Hello!” He called up to her. “My name is Marius Pontmercy. I seem to have gotten lost, and I was wondering if you could tell me exactly where we are right now?”

She frowned. “I don’t really know, honestly. I’m sorry.”

He stared up at her, confused. How could she not know where she lived?

“Oh, uh, that’s quite alright. Would you happen to know the way out of this forest?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t really help you with that. You see, I’ve never really left myself.”

“Really? Never?”

She shook her head. Marius was perplexed; how long had this girl been in this tower?

“OK, well, I’ll be on my way, then. Thank you for your trouble.” He began to walk away, disappointed at losing his one chance at help.

***

She couldn’t just let him leave, could she? She was pretty sure that there weren’t any other traces of civilization in the area, and it would be dark soon. Praying that he was as nice as he seemed, she called down:

“Wait!”

He jumped and turned back. “Yes?”

“Well, it’s getting dark, and it doesn’t really look like you have anywhere else to go. I was wondering if you’d like to come in?”

He looked taken aback. He probably hadn’t expected an invitation, and she hadn’t expected to give one. But he seemed nice, and (hopefully) trustworthy.

“That’s incredibly generous of you, but I really wouldn’t want to impose-“

She cut him off. “Really, I insist. I’d feel terrible if you were out in the cold all night.”

“Then I suppose I’ll take you up on that offer. Thank you, Miss—Actually, I don’t think you told me your name.”

“Oh! It’s Cosette.”

“That’s really pretty.”

Cosette smiled as a blush rose to her cheeks. She was kind of glad that this guy had stumbled upon her tower.

“Uh, Cosette?” Marius said, “I can’t seem to find the door.

She hadn’t thought about _how_ she was going to get Marius in. As far as she knew, the tower didn’t actually have a door. Papa always came in through a secret entrance, and she had no idea where that was.

“I don’t think there is one, actually.”

“OK. Well, let’s see, I could try climbing up, but I don’t really know if that’s possible.”

“No, you would certainly fall.”

Cosette looked around the room, searching for a rope, or something else that could work for this.

“Wait! I have an idea!” She shouted excitedly, swinging her multitude of hair over her shoulder. Just as she had predicted, it almost touched the ground.

Marius gaped at her. “Is _that_ your _hair_?”

***

Éponine was preparing breakfast when her parents finally made their way downstairs. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to ask them.

When they came into the kitchen she began, “So is it true that there’s gonna be a ball tonight?”

Her mother answered, “Yeah. What’s it to ya?”

Oh, well, I was just wondering if you had any plans to go? I know that you went last time, and…”

“Yeah, we’re goin’. And speakin’ of that, I’m gonna need ya to be in charge here tonight.”

“Well, actually, I was thinkin’ maybe I could go with you? I’d be really good at something like this, and--“

Her father cut her off. “No, certainly not. You need to take care of things here, and you’d probably get caught, anyways.”

Éponine put her hands on her hips. “But you know how good I am! And I could leave ‘Zelma in charge here, she knows just as much as I do.”

Thénardier stepped forward, raising his hand as if to slap her across the face. “The answer is no. And if you know what’s good for you, girl, then you’ll shut up.”

She went back to her chores, a little disappointed that her parents had said no. But she wasn’t going to let it stop her from going. She had a bit of money saved up, probably enough to buy something nice to wear. And, if not, she had other ways of getting what she needed.

***

“So where are we going, exactly?” Combeferre asked Courfeyrac as they mounted their horses.

“To look for Marius, obviously.” Courfeyrac answered.

“Yes, I know that. But _where_?”

“Oh.” He paused for a moment. “Well, he could really be anywhere.”

“What did you even send him to do in the first place?”

“Well, people were talking about a ball at the palace, and Enjolras thinks that that might be a good opportunity for a demonstration, or something, so I sent him into town to get the details.”

“That’s strange,” said Enjolras, coming up behind them, “because I distinctly remember telling _you_ to do that.”

Courfeyrac sent him a glare as Grantaire rode over.

“So are we going, or not?” He asked, sounding bored.

Grantaire always seemed a little bored with the group, and everyone knew that he was really only in it for Enjolras. Well, everyone except Enjolras, who, though an expert leader and strategist, was oblivious to practically everything else.

Ignoring Grantaire completely, Enjolras said, “Why don’t we all split up? Courfeyrac and Combeferre, Feuilly and Bahorel and Jehan, Joly and Bossuet, and myself and…” He paused to figure out who was left, and grimaced when he realized who it was. “Grantaire.”

Courfeyrac and Combeferre exchanged a glance as Grantaire turned an interesting shade of red.


End file.
